BlackRock to move business if banks downgraded

BlackRock, the world’s largest money manager, would be required to cut back some of the business it conducts with Wall Street firms if Moody’s Investor Service carries out its threat to lower the credit ratings of some of the largest U.S. banks, The New York Times reported on its website on Wednesday.

BlackRock Chief Executive Laurence Fink told the paper that some of his firm’s investment contracts with its clients stipulate a minimum credit rating for counterparties.

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“If Moody’s does indeed downgrade these institutions, we may have a need to move some business around to higher-rated institutions,” Fink told the newspaper.

Moody’s has said that it is reviewing 15 of the world’s largest banks for possible credit ratings downgrades in mid-May, and broad cuts could send banks’ ratings on average to their lowest historical levels.